Spirited Away
by CreatureMan88
Summary: When children are told by their elders to stay indoors and away from the potential dangers of the night, most of them tend to listen, fearing the worst. Here's a story of a child that didn't.


Just a little something my cousin wrote. She doesn't own Pokémon and neither do I.

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><p>We live in the middle of nowhere. No point in telling you where nowhere is because it's not on any map you'll ever come across.<p>

All I can tell you is that my name is Jack Phipps and I'm 10 years old. I live on a tiny farm with my mum, dad, 4 sisters and 3 brothers. There are other small farms around us but they are few and far between but ever month the heads of each estate get together to meet in a place called 'the circle'. We kids are not allowed to go to the meetings we just sit outside the circular hall till they are done because playing is forbidden lest we make noise. We aren't even allowed to talk to the other children in a whisper, we are simply told to sit and wait with our butts on the ground and our chins on our knees. Whenever I go to the meetings with my family and see the other children I think about how odd it is to see them and not call any a friend, sometimes I get the feeling that certain children are not present but I can never be sure since I can't say I know any of them.

After each meeting my parents tell us to stay away from the Orchid Fields, we don't know why when they look so beautiful. The warnings seem to get sterner and sterner every month making me wonder about the fields more and more.

"Why?" I ask in frustration and curiosity, and the reply is always the same, "Because we said so and that's that!"

Every day I sit on my porch and stare into the distance where the Orchid Fields are, I can make out the pink, purple and white orchids they look like a billion butterflies resting on a huge green carpet.

It looks like paradise.

Sometimes at sunset I see little round balloon type things floating and bobbing around in the horizon. I know that they can't possibly be balloons because no one goes out there. I can never really get a good look at them because after a while they vanish and it all seems like it was my mind playing tricks on me.

I want to know what's in the Orchid Fields, every night I dream I'm running around the flowers with the moonlight gleaming down on my face and every night my dreams become more real and crisp. I swear that I can smell the faint scent of orchid perfume and feel the cool night air sting my skin ever so slightly. I've never held or sniffed an orchid in real life but I believe that that's how they would smell. It has to be a happy place, I just know it. How can such a beautiful place be out of bounds? Surely it can't be dangerous, I laugh at the thought. My parents are just out of their minds. They just don't want me to be happy, all they want me to do is work in the farm and do my studies. We never have time to do what we want to do. We never go anywhere apart from that stupid circle once a month.

No one tells me anything and I don't even think that it's because they don't want to but because they have no idea themselves, it must be the fear of the unknown because it makes no sense. I have to get to Orchid Fields, I need to rid my family of this absurd fear so we can all go there together and bask in its wonder.

I know what I must do.

I have made up my mind, tomorrow night, when the moon is full and bright to light my way I will go to Orchid Fields. I will be the hero that will free the civilians from an unknown danger, I will be the explorer that takes back the news of a new world to his people, I will give the gift of Orchid Fields to all.

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><p>The night has fallen quickly, I made sure that I did all my chores and finished all my homework in good time so I could go to bed early and rest up for my moonlit adventure. My three brothers are all sound asleep in our room, I put on my lace up boots and stay in my striped pyjamas because I know I will be back way before dawn. No one will miss me. I climb out my window because my door will make too much noise and wake up my older sister Lisa. Lisa is a light sleeper and tries to act like our mother so I must not wake her.<p>

As my feet hit the ground outside my window I feel a rush of excitement, I feel giddy, I feel free so I begin to jog and then I break into a run, the world this night is illuminated magnificently by the full moon. I can see my way to Orchid Fields so clearly, I feel like I've been down this path before it's like a distant lingering memory that begs me to run faster so I can get to my destination quicker and recover my lost memories.

I get to the entrance of Orchid Fields with a huge 'No Access Beyond This Point' sign to greet me in big red letters. I don't understand, who could have put up such a sign in front of such a gorgeous place? Clearly my parents are not the only ones that feel this place is not to be visited but I don't care, all these people are mad and wish to stay in their one tracked boring lives. Not me, I want to see everything, all the things my parents teach me in home school and all the places from the story books. I want to make my own stories and that will start tonight with this adventure to Orchid Fields.

I take a deep breath and walk slowly into the field, not because I'm afraid but because I don't want to miss anything. Where I got the guts to do this I don't know, all I know is I found the resolve somehow and now I must explore.

I was greeted by a gentle breeze which carried upon it the faint scent of what I recognise from my dream to be orchids. I knew it! I knew my dreams were real! My eyes met the fields and fields of orchids, orchids as far as the eye can see, so beautiful, my distant view didn't do it justice. The bright pinks, purples and whites all kissed by the moonlight radiant with a heavenly glow, why anyone would want to miss this is beyond me. I walk down towards where the orchids grow their perfume growing more pungent with each step, I find myself feeling calmer and calmer as I draw nearer to the magnificently tall flowers that soon engulf me at my shoulders. I'm glad I chose to stay in my long sleeved pyjamas because I might have gotten a rash with my arms exposed in a T-shirt which would be hard to get passed my mother unnoticed.

I hear a sound close by, I can't see anyone or anything other than the orchids, so what could be making that sound? It's not a cricket that's for sure. It sounds like a strange song, I feel drawn to it, the sound gets louder and it seems to be made from many different sources. I follow it west because I must know what is making this sound that I have never heard before. I hear the sound of rushing water and my nose is welcomed by its fresh smell and as I push through the last bunch of orchids I see that I have reached a mystical rocky creak and on the other side I see more orchids but what strikes me the most is that I have found the source of that glorious noise. The floating balloon things, about 15 or 20 of them, only now I see them ever so clearly, they are grand like hot air balloons like in my social studies book. They are dark purple on their top and a lighter purple on what I presume to be their belly. They have yellow crosses that look like they're meant to be mouths, red glowing beady eyes and four yellow hand like things, a twitching red skirt like thing at their base and a cloud for hair. The cloud hair I personally find most delightful. What a wondrous thing to have a cloud for hair. I giggle at this notion and they immediately stop their song and all turn to face me. I stare at them, though they are strange I am not afraid, I feel like I belong with them. I want to play with them.

It's as if they can read my mind because they all begin to float towards me over the creek I cannot contain my excitement.

"Sing! Sing to me again!" I shout as they begin to float around me.

Immediately they begin their song and I begin to dance and spin around in circles. Indeed my parents are insane because this place is amazing, look at what they are missing. This is the best night of my life I can't imagine what took me so long to come here. I'm so glad I didn't allow my parents to blind me as they did my brothers and sisters. This is life, this is living. I'm in paradise with my friends at last.

"Friends…" I say the words out loud because the realisation is so alien to me.

I never thought that I would have friends, even though these balloon type creatures are not like me, I know they have been waiting for me to come here because they have welcomed me ever so graciously. I get the feeling that they want me to go with them, to go with them on more adventures. This must be my destiny, to be an explorer with my new friends, my dreams were not just dreams they were visions, visions of a life in paradise.

I feel like I have been dancing for ages and I want to stop because I feel sleep creeping up on me and my legs ache. As soon as I stop my balloon friends stop singing and face me. I spin around to look at my surroundings and I quickly realise that I am completely surrounded by them. I feel a hint of panic in my gut because their red eyes are flaming and glowing and focused on me. They don't seem to want to play anymore but I begin to dance again to try and beckon them to join me as they did before but instead one of the blimp like creatures floats towards me from the circle to its centre where I stand. I look at it quizzically and soon it is right in front of me. It stretches out one of its yellow hands towards me and I quickly understand that it's time to go. I can feel the wind pick up in force and speed around me.

"It's time to go?" I ask the purple balloon not because I'm not sure but because I know I have no choice in the matter. I realise I never did.

My heart fills with dread because I now know I will never see my family again, oh God! When did things get so dark and terrifying? I struggle desperately to catch my breath and I try to resist the urge to place my hand in its. I lose my battle with my tears as I finally make contact with the creature. It pulls me in closes to it as it turns its front arms into a seat for me and cradles me as we begin to float away. I sob uncontrollably only realising now how much of a child I am. Why did I do this? It seemed so right, this isn't what I pictured in my mind nor what I saw in my dreams. I thought I would be able to go back home to tell of my adventures. The wind carries us off higher and into the sky, the orchids and the creek slowly disappear into the distance. I see my house and know that when my family wakes tomorrow they will find me gone. I know they will look for me, I know they will mourn me and I know eventually they will let me go.

"I'm sorry" I whisper into the night. I truly am sorry for the pain they are yet to suffer.

I don't know where we are going because it seems we are simply being carried away in the direction of the wind. I hear the sound of pressure releasing from time to time from the creatures I assume they are trying to steer themselves somehow though it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Suddenly we begin to descend as the wind starts to die down and a huge rock face with a cave becomes visible. I take a deep breath because I have a strong feeling the cave is where we will go. I don't know why I am becoming so in tune with these beings, I guess it's because I have come to accept my fate.

The purple creature sets me down by the entrance of the cave, I know I have to go in, I don't know why, but I know I must go. I walk to the cave and take a glance back and realise that all the other balloons are watching me go, I nod at them and smile and immediately they begin to sing as I walk into the cave.

It's okay, I feel no sadness, no regret and no pain, the cave is cold and dark. I keep walking till I feel there is no ground beneath my feet and I begin to plummet, for how long I do not know, all I know is that when I get out of this I will be reborn. That's what my blimp brothers and sisters showed me just before I entered the cave, our minds are linked now you see. They had called me in my dreams and revelled themselves to me in Orchid Fields and now it's time for me to join them when I wake to float with them on the wind and ferry more children to paradise.


End file.
